Previewing Utah State’s 2026 offensive line

LOGAN – Football is a game won in the trenches, and the Utah State offensive line could be a strength heading into the 2026 Pac-12 season.

A group plagued by underperformance and injuries a year ago, the Aggies’ offensive line returns three of the team’s four returning offensive starters.

RELATED: Utah State’s Liston named to Outland Trophy preseason watchlist

TWO-EIGHT, TWO-JAY! @CarsonTujague with the rock break to end fall camp! 🪨🔨

Next up: September 5th vs. Idaho State!

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— USU Football (@USUFootball) August 25, 2026

Outland Trophy watchlist selection Jimmy Liston returns at center, alongside George Maile and Tavo Motu’apuaka.

That continuity matters more than ever.

Utah State left the Mountain West this summer for a new-look Pac-12 headlined by Boise State, Oregon State and Washington State — a conference that will demand more from the offensive front.

If the Aggies are going to protect new quarterback McCae Hillstead and establish a ground game, it starts with a line that has something it lacked a season ago: proven experience and genuine depth.

Who will fill the two open starting spots is anybody’s guess before Idaho State comes to town for the Sept. 5 opener. But Utah State has a stable of size and strength it could not draw from last season.

That depth comes from three additional returning reserves, five transfers from four-year programs and an incoming freshman class of six.

Returning Starters

Jimmy Liston – Junior

The 6-foot-4, 300-pound Jimmy Liston took hold of the center position in fall camp last season and never let go.

In his first year as an Aggie after transferring from Purdue, Liston was graded by Pro Football Focus as having the third-fewest negatively graded run blocks among Mountain West offensive linemen while playing more snaps at center than anyone in the conference

Multiple outlets project Liston as a preseason All-Pac-12 first-team selection.

He is one of 68 players nationwide named to the Outland Trophy watch list.

George Maile – Graduate senior

An Athlon Sports preseason Pac-12 second-team selection, George Maile has appeared in 25 games for Utah State, including 14 starts.

Before his two seasons with the Aggies, the 6-foot-4, 310-pound lineman appeared in 13 games across two seasons at Baylor.

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕖-𝔹𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕖𝕕: Ep. 5🤘

Get to know our leadership council for the year, this time with @GeorgeMaile1! pic.twitter.com/Ex7rNVHyuh

— USU Football (@USUFootball) August 15, 2026

ESPN and 247Sports rated him as a four-star prospect out of Bingham High School in South Jordan, Utah.

Tavo Motu’apuaka – Senior

The brother of former Aggie defensive lineman Hale Motu’apuaka (2018-23), Tavo Motu’apuaka enters his fifth season in Logan.

Despite being enrolled at Utah State since 2022, the 6-foot-4, 340-pound lineman has appeared in only 19 games after redshirting in 2022 and missing the 2024 season because of injury

Motu’apuaka has played 1,161 snaps and recorded 59 career knockdowns.

Returning Reserves

K’leyone Iosua – Redshirt junior

Another massive road-grader, K’leyone Iosua is listed at 6-foot-3, 320 pounds as he enters his fourth season with the program.

The former Utah Class 6A honorable mention all-state and second-team all-region lineman from Skyridge High School made his first collegiate appearance in 2025 as a redshirt sophomore.

Iosua made his first career start against UTEP and finished the season with 126 snaps and four knockdowns.

Cole Keele – Redshirt junior

A two-time Utah Class 3A first-team all-state honoree, Cole Keele played five snaps along the offensive line in 2025.

He appeared in one game in 2024, playing on special teams against San Diego State.

Jackson Nelson – Redshirt sophomore

A former prep quarterback at Salem Hills High School, the 6-foot-7, 290-pound Jackson Nelson redshirted at BYU in 2024 before transferring to Utah State for his redshirt freshman season.

Nelson appeared in one game for USU, playing four snaps against Nevada, and earned Mountain West Scholar-Athlete recognition.

Transfers

Kadin Lynch – Senior

Kadin Lynch is a 6-foot-3, 305-pound transfer from William & Mary.

He arrives at USU as a three-star transfer after appearing in 38 games and making 29 starts with the Tribe, including 24 at left guard.

John Randle Jr. – Redshirt sophomore

Joining Liston as a former Purdue Boilermaker, John Randle Jr. appeared in two games in each of the past two seasons while redshirting as a freshman.

He was a consensus three-star recruit out of Horn Lake High School in Mississippi, where he was a four-year starter along the offensive front.

Evan Nesmith – Graduate senior

Another experienced option is former Cornell lineman Evan Nesmith.

Injuries have limited him to six games over the past two seasons. He played 10 games as a sophomore and was part of a line that allowed 13 sacks — the second fewest in program history

Seth Wilfred – Junior

Utah State’s recruiting pipeline to prep powerhouse Bishop Gorman is not limited to skill-position players.

After completing his prep career, Seth Wilfred spent one season at Snow College before transferring to Auburn. He appeared in one game with the Tigers.

Listed at 6-foot-6, 300 pounds, Wilfred could get his first meaningful opportunity to contribute at the Division I level.

Chewy Wade – Sophomore

Chewy Wade is a 6-foot-5, 290-pound transfer from Oklahoma State who appeared in two games last season.

Between two seasons with the Cowboys (2022, 2025), Wade served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Peru Huancayo Mission.

Incoming freshmen

The six first-year players joining this group are Chantz Chargualaf (Ewa Beach, Hawaii/James Campbell), Easton Hammond (Millville, Utah/Ridgeline), Clay Jacobson (Buckeye, Ariz./Buckeye Union), Kaholi Krau (Wailuku, Hawaii/Baldwin), Lucas Neidig (South Jordan, Utah/Bingham) and Spencer Scappini (Renton, Wash./Hazen).

Looking ahead

None of this guarantees Utah State will win in the trenches when it matters.

Two starting spots are still up for grabs, the injury history runs deep, and the Pac-12 will present a level of competition few of these linemen have faced.

But for a program that spent much of 2025 shuffling bodies along the front, the combination of Liston’s All-Conference talent, Maile’s veteran steadiness and a wave of reinforcements gives the Aggies something they haven’t had in a while — options.

Following Utah State football with KSL Sports Zone

The Aggies open the 2026 season against Idaho State on Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium on September 5. Kickoff is at 5 p.m. MT.

Find Utah State football’s entire 2026 schedule here.

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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.

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